


Two Long Nights

by Rose_Herondale



Category: The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: After TLH, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blackthorn Hall, Bracelets are dumb, Cordelia and James married, F/M, Last bracelet story for now, Lucie and Grace things, Magnus being the best, Spoilers for TLH
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23401309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_Herondale/pseuds/Rose_Herondale
Summary: Cordelia and James are sent to find Lucie after she visits Ariadne for too long. Only, she isn't at the Bridgestocks. She is at Blackthorn Hall with Grace Blackthorn of all people. What will happen when a dead body and a demon lead Cordelia and James to the only person who can help them? Will they figure out why James is forgetting his emotions? Or will Magnus just leave them with more questions than answers?
Relationships: Cordelia Carstairs/James Herondale
Comments: 3
Kudos: 56





	1. What happened to Lucie?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm doing another one! I thought of this after wondering what it was like for Cordelia and James to live together as a married couple. This will probably be the last story I write about that dumb bracelet because I don't like writing about the same topic over and over again. But if there's any suggestions on what I should write next, let me know in the comments.

Cordelia was staring up at the ceiling of her and James’s bedroom. Next to her, James faced the wall but breathed unevenly, signaling he was still awake. Neither could fall asleep that night, the events that had transpired that day weighing too heavily on their minds.  
Her mind kept replaying the same footage. Lucie mixing her own blood with some foreign liquid as Grace moved around a boy’s still body. She had immediately known that her and James weren’t supposed to be there.

Will and Tessa had sent them to fetch Lucie who had apparently been visiting the Bridgestocks. Only when they got there, Ariadne claimed Lucie and Grace had gone to Blackthorn Hall to retrieve something of Grace’s.

This was odd to James and Cordelia, who thought Lucie resented Grace for abandoning her brother. They had approached the manor with suspicion, weapons drawn as demons were known to lurk about the grounds. The two passed the greenhouse and were about to continue on when Cordelia had noticed a light coming from a nearby shed.“Should we go check that out?” Cordelia asked, pulling Cortana from its spot on her back. James took a second to see what she did. He stood for a moment, looking slightly anxious.

“I don’t know, we probably shouldn’t be rummaging through their whole estate. I feel like Tatiana will jump out from the shadows and chase off of her property.” He answered, looking around.  
Cordelia smiled at his remark. “Well, last time we were both here, we got attacked by a demon. I think we have the right to make sure they didn’t leave a lamp on.” James finally nodded, and they made their way towards the small shack.

It looked completely out of use and like it was about to topple over. However, as they approached, they began to hear voices resonating from the inside. Both of which were only too familiar.  
“Did you bring what you were supposed to?” Grace Blackthorn asked with a monotone voice. Cordelia immediately looked to James at this, who looked back at her with equal confusion. His wife rounded the corner of the shack, finding a slit in the wood that was big enough for them to look through.

The light that they had seen was not a lamp but a witch light that was on top of some old wooden crates. Lucie and Grace were moving around each other, avoiding something that was laid in the middle of the shack. Neither Cordelia nor James could make out what it was, but it seemed to be delicate as the two girls were very careful not to rub against it.

“If you mean my own blood, then yes. If you mean the dagger, then also yes.” Lucie said in her sarcastic tone. “Hand me the purple stuff, so we can get this over with.”

Grace rolled her eyes. “It has a name, you know. You should at least try to understand what we’re doing.”

Lucie gave her a flat smile. “I understand it completely. We’re trying to raise your brother from the dead. Now give me the…whatever it is.”

Cordelia and James’s hearts stopped. James absentmindedly grabbed onto Cordelia’s hand, gripping it like a sword. She ignored the gesture as something of shock, knowing how hard it was to watch his sister and love try and do something so unnatural. Lucie grabbed hold of the dagger that Cordelia didn’t recognize and dragged it across the palm of her hand, wincing only slightly. Grace moved out of the way, so they were able to see what was on the table. It was a body. The skin was graying but looked preserved. Black hair covered the head, and its eyes were closed. The body was a boy’s that neither Cordelia nor James had seen before. The realization hit them.

“Necromancy. We need to stop them.” Cordelia whispered so only James would hear. He nodded then paused, perking up towards something. His eyes searched the grounds and looked suspicious.

“Wait.” He breathed, creeping away from the shack. Cordelia looked in the same direction as him but didn’t see anything. “Come with me.” He said pulling her after him and jogging towards the entrance. Cordelia thought he was mad for a moment, running away from his sister. That was until she saw what he had.

A shax demon was sniffing its away around the front gate of the manor, pincers at the ready. James was pulled a throwing knife from his gear belt and swung it at the beast, landing it in the back of its neck. Cordelia and James split up to circle the demon, as the demon looked around to find its assailants. It let out a gurgled sound and snapped its claws at them. Cordelia slashed at it with Cortana, ichor soon covering it.

James had just activated a seraph blade when he heard Lucie call. “James!” She shouted. He looked away from the demon as Lucie and Grace ran towards them. But that short distraction was enough for the demon to strike. It lashed out at James, cutting him at the forearm and sending the blade out of his hand.

Cordelia quickly stepped into James and managed to slice one of the demon’s eyes. Lucie, luckily, had a seraph blade on her and joined the fight with her parabatai. The two took turns defending the other as the demon tried to keep up with their quick movements. Cordelia seemed to dance with her sword compared to Lucie’s fast pace slashes. Grace stood back, leaning against a tree to stay out of the way.  
Eventually, Cordelia was able to hold its attention long enough for Lucie to arc her Seraph blade up and stab its throat. The demon let out a pained noise and fell to the ground before disappearing back to its own realm.

“Are you okay?” Cordelia asked, taking in gulps of air. Lucie was smiling as she always did after a fight with her parabatai. Then Cordelia saw the cut on her hand and remembered what she had seen in the shack. Cordelia knew she had to bring it up to her, yet she didn’t want to. This was different then Tatiana Blackthorn practicing dark magic. This was Lucie. Her parabatai. James’s sister. The Law required that if a Shadowhunter was caught doing something like that, they were to be punished. The thought of her beautifully innocent parabatai locked in the Wards of Idris gave her a nauseous feeling. Cordelia made her decision in a second. “Here, let me give you an iratze. You have a cut on your hand.”

“Yeah, the edge of its pincer got me. I thought they got rid of all the demons here.” Lucie said, nonchalantly as her parabatai gave her an iratze.  
Cordelia bit her lip. “They must’ve missed it. Why were you even out here?” She asked, telling herself it was best for Lucie to decide when to tell her.  
James walked up beside Lucie, finishing an iratze on his arm. The cut was slightly deep and looked awfully jagged, but it would be an easy heal. He too seemed to be curious of what Lucie would tell them to feel any pain.

“Grace forgot a box of family heirlooms here. She said they were too valuable to be left behind.” Lucie explained quickly once Cordelia finished the rune.  
With a quick glance at Grace, James responded, “And your mission wasn’t a success?” As neither Grace nor Lucie had a box. Lucie shook her head innocently.

“Nope, we were only just about to go in when we heard you guys. But it’s late now, so I guess we can go home and try again another day. Right, Grace?” Lucie told them, looking to Grace for support. The blonde girl nodded, staying silent.

“Preferably try again when it’s daylight, Luce. You know how dangerous this area has been.” Lowering his voice to not insult Grace, although Cordelia didn’t think she would care. The manor was already a mess, no point in hiding the fact that it was a demon playground. “Anyways, Mother and Father sent us to get you. You know you’re not supposed to be out this late. Especially, with all the activity that’s been going on.”

Lucie crossed her arms. “I was just visiting Grace and Ariadne. They knew exactly where I was.”

“Yet, we found you in front of Blackthorn Hall.” James responded, playing the responsible brother.

“Come on, we’ll take you home in our carriage. We can drop Grace off too.” Cordelia suggested, grabbing Lucie’s hand.

Grace spoke for the first time that night. “Um, it’s fine. I can just walk home, it’s not too far.”

“Absolutely not. My father would kill me if I let a young woman walk home alone. I promise we will leave you alone after that.” James said, sternly.

Cordelia heard the slight despair in his voice in the last sentence. She knew he didn’t want to leave Grace alone. He probably wanted to be with her for the rest of the night. That feeling of uselessness panged in her heart.

That pang reverberated again in her as she lay on her bed. She knew Grace was beautiful with her perfectly blonde hair and fair skin, but Cordelia still didn’t understand what about her made James so fond of her. She could be lovely on the inside; Cordelia didn’t know enough about her to make the conclusion. Still, Cordelia would rather have James love another girl who Cordelia knew to be excellent. Then again, she would also rather have that girl be her.

“James.” She said quietly, surprising herself. “Why do you love Grace?”  
It sounded like a very simple question. Only they both knew it was not. Love was such a complex feeling that you would have to study it for years just to be able to give a simple description of it. Cordelia was somewhat of a scholar in that field, always observing but never touching. She had felt it for James for over five years, but she only felt the good sides of it occasionally. The Whispering Room had been a good time to be in love with James. The feeling that had bloomed in her chest after being left on the dance floor was a side effect of her love. It hurt like a knife sometimes.

“I…don’t know. Sometimes I ask myself the same question.” He answered sitting up in bed so his back rested against it. “I guess it’s because I felt bad for her as a kid and wanted to keep her from getting lonely. Eventually, I told her so much that I felt like my heart was tied to her.”

Cordelia sighed. “That sounds more like pity than love.”

“Well, I can usually feel it so clearly. But today, it’s not so strong. Maybe because of what her and Lucie were doing, but I still love Lucie just as much. I just fear for her.” He ran a hand through his black hair as Cordelia observed him, remembering how it had felt to touch that hair.

“I’m sorry I didn’t confront her after the attack. I didn’t—I couldn’t accuse her of something that is so forbidden. It would have been my duty to drag her to the institute as a heretic and I…I can’t do that. I suppose you wouldn’t be able to either.” Cordelia explained. Her fingers played with the fabric of their covers as her chest tightened with anxiety. She felt at any moment she would crawl out of her own skin and confess all that she had thought about him. She tried to still the feeling, imagining how that horrible display would end up.

“I never would be able to do that. I just don’t know what we should do. Why would she be trying necromancy? I didn’t recognize that boy at all. Grace never mentioned a boy to me either.” He looked to be in deep thought when Cordelia looked at him. Her heart melted at the sight of him like it always had, withering her away more and more each day. His fingers were held up to his mouth and he bit as his nails.

It was then that Cordelia noticed something. Or she noticed the absence of something. “What happened to your bracelet?” She asked and gestured to his arm where he typically had it on.  
James glanced down at it, seemingly realizing it himself also. “I—well, I could have sworn I was wearing it. Maybe it got knocked off during the attack. That demon did scratch me pretty hard. But…” He trailed off, fading back into thought. Only this time he looked even more confused. “Why was I still wearing it?”

He looked to Cordelia, and she realized it was a genuine question. “I always thought it was some weird promise to Grace. I never thought I had the right to ask you about it. It was slightly weird though when you wore it to the wedding.”

“I wore it at our wedding!?” James asked, incredulous. Cordelia was now also confused.

“Yes? Do you not remember that?”

James scratched the back of his head, rubbing his hand along where the bracelet used to always be. “There’s something wrong here. It’s like I remember everything that’s happened this last month, but I don’t remember how I felt. I remember after recovering from the fight with Belial and wanting to see you. Then Grace came and…I stop feeling things after that.”

Cordelia looked at him like he was going mad. “Did you get too much demon venom in you? What are you talking about?”

“There’s something wrong with that bracelet.” He finally said and swung his legs off the bed.

“What are you doing?” Cordelia asked, following him into their bathroom. James was pulling off his shirt and grabbing gear to put on. Cordelia nearly turned away to give him privacy then figured that they were married, why shouldn’t she watch her husband be a lunatic?

“I’m going back to Blackthorn Hall to find that bracelet. Then I’ll find Magnus and ask him to look at it for me. Something about that bracelet made me forget things. Or at least it clouded my memory.” He explained quickly.

Cordelia understood then and started putting on her own gear, going behind her folding screen to change. “I’m going with you then. If that bracelet actually did something to you, then I’m not going to leave you be alone with it. Plus, I haven’t seen Magnus in a while.”


	2. A Visit to Magnus

“Ah, my two idiotic shadowhunters. I suppose it’s a Herondale trait to come to me in the middle of the night.” Magnus greeted, tired and in a silky, red sleeping robe. Behind him was a luxurious flat that he had most likely decorated himself. Cordelia could make out someone sleeping on the couch and chose not to ask.

“We need you to look at something for us.” James answered, as Cordelia pulled out the broken bracelet they had retrieved from Blackthorn Hall. It had barely been hanging together when they found it.

Magnus looked at the bracelet with an odd look. “You should know that jewelry gifted to me should be whole, at least. I know I don’t dress in typical fashion but—”“Magnus, please. James thinks there’s something…” Cordelia looked at James, leaving the rest to him.

“Odd about it. Grace Blackthorn gave it to me again after Belial’s attack. I can’t seem to remember my…feelings from the past two months. If that makes sense.” James explained, anxious for Magnus’s response.

The warlock gestured them into his abode, examining the bracelet closer. He led them from the foyer and into a separate room that had bookshelves on one side and a wide arrange of magical ingredients on the other. A table was set in the middle that had tools for mixing and stirring along with a magnifying glass. Magnus put the bracelet under it and looked closer.

“’Loyalty binds me.’” He read from the inscription.

“That’s the Cartwrights’ family motto. Grace originally had me retrieve it for her in Idris a long time ago before I went to the academy.” James explained.

Magnus waved a hand over the metal, causing pink and black wisps to begin leaking from where the bracelet broke. He jerked back, grabbing a cloth and putting it over his nose. Cordelia and James backed away from the pink air, covering their noses as well.

“It seems like a love spell of some sort. But this is one stronger than I’ve seen before. Whoever cursed it must have been very powerful or had help from a Greater Demon.” He turned around and sifted through his many liquids, rings clinking against the glasses.

“How would Grace have access to a cursed bracelet? She’s barely even a shadowhunter, how would she know magic?” Cordelia asked looking through the magnifying glass with a handkerchief to her nose.  
Magnus came back with a glass of golden liquid that had black flecks floating within it. He picked the bracelet up with tongs and dropped it into the liquid, causing the fumes to stop. He pulled the cloth away from his face and watched as the liquid fizzed at the edges of the bracelet. “Something tells me that Grace didn’t do that to the bracelet. She might not even had known about the spell. Did she ever force you to wear that?”

James thought back to that morning when he had laid in his bed. He remembered hoping to see Cordelia, wondering if she was okay. Then Grace came in and something happened. All he could remember was a blinding pain before feeling nothing.

“She might have. I don’t know. When I woke up after the fight with Belial, she came to visit while no one else was in the room with me. I just remember feeling incredible pain and then she left.” He described, meeting Cordelia’s eyes who had been watching him closely. She looked away within seconds.

Magnus clicked his tongue. “Grace could have put it on you then. We can’t know for sure. Love spells tend to come with effects on the memory. But I’ve heard very little of what you speak of. Like you can’t remember how you felt. There is a way to block a person’s emotions, but it is incredibly hard to block out but one emotion. And then decide who that emotion is for.” He sat back against the table and rubbed his hand across his chin. “I would keep an eye out for Grace. I don’t trust her. She was stuck with her mother for too long in that house.”

“Magnus, was anything I felt for Grace real then?” James asked.

“It is quite possible that you enjoyed her presence and her friendship. But I suspect that anything beyond that was in part due to the bracelet. She is also a very compelling creature. It seems anyone would bend to her will.” Magnus answered, making Cordelia think back to Lucie and the body.

“Is there anyway that her mother could have cursed the bracelet and made Grace give it to James? It sounds like something she would do.” Cordelia asked, looking at the many books on Magnus’s shelves.

James bit his lip. “Possibly. Tatiana did have it locked away when I first had to get it for Grace.”

Cordelia turned to him. “How did you get it then?”

“I walked through the walls. It was just when I was trying to get a hold of my ability when Grace suggested I get it for her. But it was…I almost got stuck in the Shadow realm that night. It’s why I don’t walk through walls anymore.”

Magnus nodded, then stood up straight. “Okay, I will keep the bracelet here and look for more on it. You can do your hypothesizing in your own home.” He said motioning them to the door. “Or you could go to sleep like normal shadowhunters. Maybe do a little more.” He winked at Cordelia who blushed to the shade of red.

“Magnus, we’re—”

“Not romantically married. I know. Shame, you both have so many secrets that you’d think they would cancel out. Your children would also be like living angels, no doubt.” He continued.  
James eyes widened. “Magnus!”

The warlock laughed. “I’m joking with you. Although, you both are beautiful. But this is a discussion for another day. Goodbye, young shadowhunters. Please go directly home, I would hate to tell Will and Tessa that their son was bothering me again.”

The two said goodbye and exited the building, both feeling equally awkward at Magnus’s remarks.


	3. The Second Night

Two days had passed since that long night. Cordelia and James had both spoken very little of it, both trying to process what Magnus had said. As far as she knew, James hadn’t told any of his close friends about the bracelet, so she didn’t tell Lucie, figuring it was not her story to tell.

Yet as she watched him get ready for bed, her mind couldn’t help but wonder. James had asked if anything towards Grace had been real, but Magnus could only guess that he was given a false sense of love. Cordelia felt torn apart by this. On one hand, that left possibility for James eventually growing to love her. Only she was his friend, and she knew that he was in pain from that revelation. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and comfort him, letting him know that she still cared for him even if Grace had never. Cordelia would always care for him. The question was if he cared anything for her.

James swept a comb through his hair, paying little attention to the action as thoughts swarmed in his head. None of it was real. Magnus didn’t say that explicitly, but it’s what his mind told him. More than that, Grace had been tricking him. He felt the same way he did after she told him that she was getting married to Charles. He knew he should care more, but something in his heart stopped him. Like it was telling him to not waste his time being sad. There were more important things at hand.

He glanced towards Cordelia as she washed her face. James was thankful she had been there with him that night. Both had been confused by Lucie’s actions and now shared the feeling about Grace. He wanted to tell Matthew about it, but the blonde had been too drunk the last time James saw him to hold a conversation.

Cordelia felt the pit in her stomach again. She kept thinking of what had transpired in The Whispering Room and if what happened proved anything towards James’s feelings for her. They both had agreed it was an act to cover up them being there. Only, Cordelia knew it wasn’t an act for herself. She had melted into his arms and wouldn’t have wanted to step away from them if Matthew hadn’t come in. Magnus’s words also rang in her mind. Although, he could have been easily joking with them.

Her mind told her to ask James about it, but every other part of her told her it was a bad idea. Just because he was rid of a binding bracelet didn’t mean he would immediately fall in love with her. She had spent half her life hoping for his affection and had all those hopes stripped from her in only a few days then put back together then ripped away even harsher. She felt like she was being thrown about like a rowboat in a hurricane. Nothing seemed to stay the same way for long.

They both moved into the main bedroom when they had finished their nightly rituals. James shuffled through the pile of books that were set on his nightstand. Once, they had been organized in the order he wanted to read them. Now, they were barely upright and each book had been thumbed over a little bit.

James grabbed the top one and found where he had left his bookmark. He was about to get into bed when he noticed Cordelia was staring at the bed in thought. This wasn’t her typical behavior, usually he was the one zoning out. Her hands fidgeted with one another as her eyes stayed trained on the bed. “Daisy? Are you alright? Should I ring for one of the servants?” He asked, walking to her side of the bed. When she raised her head to look at him, she had anxious eyes.

Cordelia hesitated, looking at his beautiful amber eyes. “I know I shouldn’t ask this, and it is completely irrelevant to your situation. But do you remember feeling anything in the Whispering Room?” He sucked in a sharp breath at this. James had, in fact, felt something. Only now he didn’t know what it was. He had thought it to only be a ruse for the downworlders. Yet something in the back of his mind poked at him, knowing that that wasn’t true. As he looked at Cordelia now, he felt the same feeling in his chest. Like there were little fireworks going off in him. “Because I know we both said it was an act, but you were different that night. In no way do I mean this to be an insult, but you always seem like you are hiding part of you. I used to call it The Mask. You had it on all the time in front of your family and friends, but that night it wasn’t there. You looked completely different. I don’t know if it was because you weren’t wearing the bracelet or something else, but I just…I need to know if you felt anything that night.” She explained, grimacing at her own words. The pit in her stomach was weighing her down, preventing her from moving away from James.

“I don’t know. I know that I felt different, but I thought it was because Grace had just broken things off between us. It could have been the absence of the bracelet, but why is this weighing so heavily on you? Your hands are shaking.” He said, glancing down at her white knuckles that were clasped together like she would die if she let go.

Cordelia looked down and pulled them apart, instead wrapping her arms around herself. “Because I…I don’t know. It’s like I knew it was just a guise to protect us, but…By the Angel, I can’t do this.” She said, walking past James only for him to grab her arm.

He turned her around, so they were even closer. “Please, Cordelia. What were you going to say?” He pleaded, looking directly into her eyes. She took a deep breath. “I wanted to kiss you that night. Or I didn’t want to stop. But it was so painful for me to kiss you, knowing you were in love with someone else. How was I supposed to compare against Grace Blackthorn? She is like a walking angel, and I am only—” She stopped herself, tears springing to her eyes.

James looked at her with confusion. “Why would you need to compare yourself to Grace Blackthorn?”

Cordelia looked at him with a pained smile, aware that her next words could ruin their friendship. “I’m in love with you, James. I have been for so many years. This past summer has been the most painful of my life. Every time you talked about Grace my heart would break, and then little things like you helping me in the Greenhouse would put it back together. And you asked me to marry you when I knew you had no feelings for me. I shouldn’t have agreed to it. It will just leave me with more pain once it is over. I’m so sorry for burdening you with this, but I couldn’t handle keeping it in any longer. It has torn me apart from the inside.”

She forced her eyes down again, avoiding his gaze. Her legs wanted desperately to move away, but she forced herself to remain there if only to give James the curtesy of asking her questions. All was lost now, what was a little more pain?

“Cordelia.” He said, putting his hand against her cheek and wiping away some of her tears. She leaned into his touch, knowing she shouldn’t allow herself the luxury. “Please, look at me.” She obeyed. “How could you ever be a burden on me? You are one of the closest friends I have, and you are my wife. I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me if I thought you were going to ruin my life.”

“But you didn’t know the truth. I don’t want you to pity me now.” James groaned in his head. How could a girl as wonderful and brave as Cordelia find herself pitiful in any way? “I would have asked you anyway. What you did for me in front of the Clave was something I could never repay you for. But I would be lying if I said that that was the only reason, I wanted to marry you.” Cordelia gaze on him shifted slightly. “You asked if I felt anything in The Whispering Room. I told myself that the reason I kept kissing you was because that’s what you do when there’s a beautiful girl in front of you. Except I’ve never felt that way looking at other girls. Grace was different. Looking at her was like looking at the sun, it hurt so much. Looking at you was always so different. You’re like a star that I don’t want to lose track of in the night.”

“James.” Cordelia whispered before James pressed his lips to hers. They felt exactly as they had in the Whispering Room. He moved against her lips softly, deepening the kiss with each pass. Cordelia felt herself melting into the kiss like she had before. The warmness of it. The comfort in it.

That was until she caught herself. Until she felt the pain of being meaningless once again. She pulled away reluctantly, eyes angry and sad. “Please, don’t give me more false hope. I already told you how many times my heart has broken. I can’t keep doing this! I may not think too highly of myself sometimes, but I know I don’t deserve to be given everything I’ve wanted only for you to take it away tomorrow. My heart can only handle so much.” She held her hand to her mouth and let out a quiet sob.

The sound seemed to tear a hole in James’s soul. He paused to look at the gorgeous person in front of him. He had always thought of her, and he only just realized it now. He dreamed of her at night and thought of her voice when he was in the Shadow realm. She was his anchor. Why had it taken so long to figure out it was her?

“I told you I didn’t just want to marry you to pay you back for what you did for me. Even though I couldn’t feel anything real, I still wanted to try and feel something with you. Like there was some part of my brain that knew there is something here. Please, Cordelia, stay with me. Let me learn how to love you. I never want to cause any more pain onto you.”

She looked at him through her tears. “Are you sure? I would not be able to live with myself if I knew I was making this marriage a prison for you.”

James let out a small chuckle, surprising Cordelia. “This marriage is now the only thing I can trust anymore. Everything else seems to be a lie. If I am just able to hold you in my arms at night, I know I will be able to face every horrible thing that is to come. But only if you let me.” He took a small step closer to her.

Finally, she blinked tears away and smiled at him. “I think I would be mad to say no.”

“You probably would be.” He joked. She playfully smacked his arm and yelped when he pulled her towards him by the waist.

“I like you better this way.” Cordelia whispered to him, letting herself look into his amber eyes. “Without the Mask.”

“I think I might like it better too.” He told her before leaning down and kissing her.


End file.
